Women's Health

Women's health refers to health issues specific to human female anatomy. These often relate to structures such as female genitalia and breasts or to conditions caused by hormones specific to, or most notable in, females. Women's health issues include menstruation, contraception, maternal health, child birth, menopause and breast cancer. They can also include medical situations in which women face problems not directly related to their biology, for example gender-differentiated access to medical treatment.

Women's health is an issue which has been taken up by many feminists, especially where reproductive health is concerned. Women's health is positioned within a wider body of knowledge cited by, amongst others, the World Health Organisation, which places importance on gender as a social determinant of health.

Women's Health

Some health and medical research advocates, particularly the Society for Women's Health Research in the United States, define women's health more broadly than issues specific to human female anatomy to include areas where biological sex differences between women and men exist.

Research has demonstrated significant biological differences between the sexes in rates of susceptibility, symptoms and response to treatment in many major areas of health, including heart disease and some cancers. The social view of health combined with the acknowledgement that gender is a social determinant of health inform women's health service delivery in countries around the world.

Women's health services such as Leichhardt Women's Community Health Centre which was established in 1974 and was the first women's health centre established in Australia is an example of women's health approach to service delivery.

Men's Health

Men's health refers to health issues specific to human male anatomy. These often relate to structures such as male genitalia or to conditions caused by hormones specific to, or most notable in, males.

In the UK, the Men's Health Forum was founded in 1994. It was established originally by the Royal College of Nursing but became completely independent of the RCN when it was established as a charity in 2001. The first National Men’s Health Week was held in the USA in 1994. The first UK week took place in 2002, and the event went international the following year. In 2005, the world’s first professor of men’s health, Alan White, was appointed at Leeds Metropolitan University in north-east England.

In Australia, the Men's Health Information and Resource Centre advocates a salutogenic approach to male health which focuses on the causal factors behind health. The Centre is lead by Professor John Macdonald and was established in 1999. The Centre leads and executes Men's Health Week in Australia with core funding from the NSW Ministry of Health.

Men's Health

In 2000, the Toronto Men's Health Network was founded by Joe Jacobs, who helped bring attention to the importance of Men's Health in Canada's largest city. The organization has held Men's Health Forums annually, including 2005 where the guest speaker, Canadian Senator Dr. Wilbert Keon, spoke of the importance of men's cardiovascular health. The organization has since been chaired by Ted Kaiser, Elaine Sequeira, Dr. Don McCreary and Donald Blair. Presently, the organization is being led by James Hodgins. It remains the oldest and most recgonized Men's Health advocacy organization in Canada, with other organizations starting to appear in British Columbia and the Maritime provinces.

In the United States, men's health issues are raised by, among others, Men's Health Network (MHN). MHN is a non-profit educational organization comprising physicians, researchers, public health workers, other health professionals, and individuals. MHN is committed to improving the health and wellness of men, boys, and their families through education campaigns, data collection, surveys, toll-free hotlines, and work with health care providers. MHN conducts screenings in the workplace and at public venues, sponsors conferences and symposia, and promotes awareness periods such as Men's Health Month and Men’s Health Week.